The Promise Of Wedgie-Free Can Be Quite Scary

She might kill me for sharing this, but the packaging on the type of underpants my oldest daughter likes to wear makes a "Wedgie Free" promise.  I got what it meant, and I just assumed that the kids did too.

You can get free wedgies when you wear them, says my son.

No, no, I interrupt, it means that when you wear them, the underwear doesn’t ride up and give you a wedgie.

OOOOHHHH! They all chime simultaneously.

I thought it meant that people can give you free wedgies when you wear them, says my daughter.  Kind of like a free pass to get a wedgie at the playground.

It’s a miracle that she actually put a pair on!

I am not sure if the corporate marketing team who designed the packaging for this brand of underwear intended to reach the buyer of the underpants (the mom) or the wearer of the underpants (the child).  I do hope that they intended to reach me. Otherwise they need a better focus group of kids who can provide real feedback on how the packaging will be interpreted by those under the age of 10.

I have tried to educate my children about how product marketing works, including television commercials.  What is promised is not always what’s delivered.

It all became clear to them last Christmas when one of my daughters received a product that the company probably paid millions of dollars to promote via television commercials.  This particular product promised it would produce baked goods complete with perfectly swirled icing.  When we opened ours up and tried to get that perfect swirl, it was a no go.  And my middle daughter in particular, was devastated.

But the commercial said!

Yes, honey, but the commercial is just trying to get you to buy the product so that the company can make more money. 

It’s put a new perspective on advertising for my children. 

I’ll bet it doesn’t work like that when you get it home, remember that [baking toy]?

So sometimes, the marketing hype works and convinces our kids that they must have the said product – i.e., baking toy.  And other times, the marketing could be misinterpreted, as in the threat of free playground wedgies.   In either case, I try to point out all sides of the marketing equation to my kids and help them understand the business of doing business in our society.